Contents

Character history

Before GTA San Andreas

Frank Tenpenny sports a US Marines logo tattooed on one of his arms, which suggests he is a former Marine. In Catalyst, he hints that he is married and his wife heavily abuses sherm. However, in High Noon he leaves "to get drunk and get laid", and sexual assault is among his criminal charges towards the end of the game. He eventually joined the Los Santos Police DepartmentC.R.A.S.H. division - in real life, C.R.A.S.H. was formed in 1977 and is unique to Los Angeles.

By 1987, Tenpenny was corrupt and had a shadowy influence over Grove Street Families, often personally intimidating members like Carl Johnson and Big Smoke to do his bidding. Tenpenny refers to his work as a game of "percentages", and often purposely strengthening one gang so that they keep another from monopolizing the city. Officer Eddie Pulaski joined him at an unknown point in time, likely after 1987 because Carl seems less familiar with him. In 1992, fellow Officer Ralph Pendelbury becomes wise to their corruption and first brings evidence against them to internal affairs. At the same time, Officer Jimmy Hernandez joined their C.R.A.S.H. team and was forced to kill Pendelbury on his first day with them.

Life with Carl Johnson

Frank Tenpenny, alongside Pulaski and Hernandez, are first seen arrestingCarl Johnson in Ganton, returning to the city for his mothers funeral. The three then drive Johnson around the city's poorer neighbourhoods and hand him the gun that Hernandez had used to kill Pendelbury ten minutes previously, thus giving them leverage over him. The three then throw him from their moving police car, leaving him in Jefferson, a part of the city held by Johnson's arch rivals the Ballas. Tenpenny continues to work with Pulaski and Hernandez, but also become aware of Big Smoke and Ryders involvement with the death of Johnson's mother, committed by the Ballas who Smoke and Ryder had allied themselves while also being high ranking members of the Grove Street Families.

Tenpenny begins to go to Big Smoke's house in Idlewood and meets Johnson briefly but meets him again at Smoke's house where Tenpenny reminds Johnson he knows 'everything' about him and that he has his eye on him. Smoke, however, brushes these off by saying that Tenpenny won't leave him alone due to his connections with the Grove Street Families and has Johnson help him kill Los Santos Vagos gangsters making a deal with the San Fierro Rifa. Johnson also meets Tenpenny, alongside Pulaski and Hernandez, at Ryder's house in Grove Street where he tells them of a train loaded with weapons coming into the city, which Johnson and Ryder then attack, taking the weapons.

Badlands and San Fierro

Sweet is taken 'upstate' by the police (as revealed by Mike Toreno) but Johnson, also present at the shooting, is taken by Tenpenny, Pulaski and Hernandez to Angel Pine in Whetstone. They have him kill and then photograph an old police officer being protected by the FBI in a cabin on Mount Chiliad, as he is about to turn states evidence against Tenpenny. Tenpenny then meets Johnson again when visiting The Truth, an old friend of Tenpenny's who is selling him marijuana he intends to plan on a District Attorney. Tenpenny tells Truth that Johnson will be paying for said weed, which is in part done when Johnson steals a Combine Harvester from a rival farm.

Johnson later moved to San Fierro after winning a run down garage in Doherty. Shortly after arriving he is contacted by Tenpenny who has him go to the Vank Hoff Hotel in Financial to take a DA's car, while working as a valet, to put some of the marijuana he had Carl purchase from Truth's farm in the trunk. Johnson then phones We Tip to inform them of the DA, who is threatening to expose Tenpenny and Pulaski. The San Fierro Police Department then turn up and arrest the DA for possessing the marijuana. Tenpenny and Pulaski then turn up at Johnson's garage and have him follow a journalist on his journey to Los Santos where he meets his informant. Johnson then kills the two to again protect Tenpenny and Pulaski.

End of C.R.A.S.H.

Johnson continues to enjoy life in San Fierro before moving out into Tierra Robada and Bone County, and then settling into Las Venturas. He is contacted again by Tenpenny and Pulaski from a house in Prickle Pine. Tenpenny informs Johnson that despite their best efforts and the efforts of Johnson, the 'gig is nearly up'. Tenpenny tells Johnson that keeping his badge is not important and that they are the same, trying to get out of the hole, so when someone steps on him he steps on Johnson. He then tells Johnson to go to Aldea Malvada, a ghost town, to collect a dossier and kill the DEA and FBI agent, which Johnson does. He later meets the two at Las Brujas, another ghost town, where he hands the dossier to Pulaski while Hernandez holds him at gun point.

Tenpenny exits the police car and gets a shovel from the boot before hitting Hernandez over the head. Hernandez falls to the ground and is hit again by a furious Tenpenny as Hernandez had been giving information to internal affairs. Tenpenny, however, is likely to have known about this since Johnson was in San Fierro as he did not mention Hernandez when talking about the DA and journalist, only stating that he and Pulaski were the targets. Tenpenny then hands the shovel to Carl and, thinking that Hernandez was dead, leaves 'to get drunk and get laid'. Tenpenny leaves and Carl digs a grave, although he escapes his intended fate with help from Hernandez, who is shot and killed by Pulaski. Johnson then chases Pulaski and kills him, ending C.R.A.S.H..

Trial and final days

Tenpenny, shortly after returning to Los Santos, is arrested and put on trial for racketeering, corruption, narcotics and sexual assault. Pulaski, who had been killed by Johnson, was also charged in absentia. The case against Tenpenny and Pulaski is dismissed by the DA's office due to a lack of evidence. The outcome causes riots across the poorer neighbourhoods of Los Santos, which were hardest hit by Tenpenny and Pulaski's actions. Tenpenny continues with his work in the LSPD despite the riots and begins to recruit young officers into his circle. Johnson and Sweet, despite the chaos, continue to re-establish the Grove Street Families and then decide to take on Big Smoke. Johnson breaks into Smoke's drugs manufacturing factory where he confronts and kills Smoke.

Johnson, showing remorse for having to kill Smoke, is interrupted by Tenpenny who holds Johnson at gun point. Johnson is then forced to fill a briefcase with Smoke's drug money before throwing it back to Tenpenny. Johnson, however, distracts him by calling out his brothers name and Tenpenny quickly turns around, allowing Johnson to move before Tenpenny turns back and fires his shotgun. Tenpenny quickly works his way back through the factory but shoots the machinery in the factory with his shotgun, causing them to catch fire, in an attempt to kill Johnson. Tenpenny escapes by climbing into the cabin of a firetruck he had previously obtained and drives away. However, Sweet runs after him, jumps from a car and grabs hold of the truck's ladder while Johnson escapes the building.

Johnson then steals a car and begins chasing Tenpenny. After some time, Johnson positions his car under Sweet, allowing him to let go and fall into the car. The two then begin to follow Tenpenny and the firetruck through the poorer neighborhoods of the city, killing the pursuing police officers. Tenpenny continues to drive the truck but, when approaching the bridge from East Los Santos to Ganton, loses control and the truck goes off the bridge and lands in Grove Street. Sweet and Carl drive to the scene and are met by Kendl, Vialpando and Truth. The five witness Tenpenny climbing out of the cabin and attempt to call for back up, which due to the riots is not forth coming. Tenpenny tells the five that "fifty of me and this town would be okay" before dying. Johnson pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot him, to confirm Tenpenny's death but is stopped by Sweet, saying that the police will not investigate them as Tenpenny died in a traffic accident. According to a West Coast Talk Radio news update, Tenpenny's body is mutilated and stripped by the homeless. His body was discovered by officials after the end of the riots in Los Santos.

Trivia

PC World ranked Frank Tenpenny the thirty-fifth most diabolical video game villains of all time.[1].

Game Informer named Frank Tenpenny the second best video game villain.

Frank Tenpenny is similar in appearance to David Mack, another officer involved in the Rampart Scandal.

In the mission Misappropriation, it is revealed he has a residence in Prickle Pine. This is a reference to many real-life LAPD officers in the 1980s and 1990s, who mainly resided outside the city. The LSPD (which he is a high-ranking member) is based on the LAPD.